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Within Our Gates Film Analysis

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Within Our Gates Film Analysis
Yee Shan Mak
Comm 100B Film Review
TA: Sophie Staschus Tue 8:00am
02/10/2017
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” This is a quote from Martin Luther King Jr that can be applied in our personal lives as well as in the Civil Rights Movement. In responding to hatred with more hate, nothing will change until using a peaceful way. Civil Rights activities could not meet violence by using violence. Protesters would have to protest peacefully and inspire others by using their peaceful actions to become truly free. The main stereotype in American popular culture is black discrimination which has always been a major concern in American history. Therefore, I chose “Within
…show more content…
She believed black people were citizens who were deserved to have both rights and respect, but it was difficult to live in the South due to the serious racial prejudice like rape and lynching by White. On the other hand, “The Butler” focused on a true story about Cecil Gaines, a black butler served 8 terms of President of the United States at the White House, experienced many crucial Civil Rights Movement. From the President Dwight D. Eisenhower to President Ronald Reagan, he saw the completed revolution of the Civil Rights …show more content…
Black people’s lives were easily deprived at this time. Cecil Gaines’s mother was raped by a white man, and Cecil Gaines’s father was killed by that white man afterward. At the beginning of “The Butler”, two black men died and they were hanging on the street. Cecil Gaines said any white man could kill any one of Negroes at any time easily. White people can kill them without any punishment. This belief was terrible to let people believed white people was able to outlaw and insulted others’ lives. Black people were discriminated by required to restrict from public facilities. Because the whole country of America was in segregation, all facilities, no matter in school, in hospital or in the bus were separated into white areas and colored area. If black people tried to sit in the white area, they would be hit and punished hardly just as Cecil’s son- Louis experienced. After he sit into the white area, he was attacked by white people hardly. He ended up getting caught by police instead of those white people. In addition, Black people were inferior than white men. They had unfair treatment in their jobs as well. Even though Cecil and other black man served at the White House for a dozen years with more professional experiences, they were still in lower positions and wages than other white

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